In conventional skate blade assemblies such as those manufactured and sold by Canstar Sports Inc. under its TUUK trademark, a blade holder, which is secured to the skate boot, has a longitudinal slot into which the blade or "runner" is installed.
This blade assembly has been extremely successful. However, in the constant quest for improvement, it was determined that it would be desirable to provide greater rigidity along the central portion of the blade holder, i.e. along the neck portion between the heel and toe portions, since this greater rigidity would permit the use of a less rigid blade or runner, which would permit the overall weight of the skate to be reduced. This greater rigidity would also reduce the stress on the neck portion of the blade holder, which is desirable because the plastic of the blade holder is more brittle when under stress. Reinforcement would also provide better force transfer between the ice and the skate boot, via the attachments between the boot and the front and rear portions of the blade holder.
Reduced weight in skates, without sacrificing performance, is an ongoing goal in the industry. Generally, reducing the weight of the skate blade itself has not been considered to be a viable option, since it was assumed that this would reduce the required stiffness to an undesirable degree.